Development Initiatives welcomes the International Development Committee’s call for increased reporting to the IATI Standard

The UK House of Commons International Development Committee (IDC) has published its fifth report of the session 2015–16, The World Humanitarian Summit: priorities for reform. The report sets out the IDC’s recommendations to the Department for International Development (DFID) for its approach to the forthcoming summit.

Development Initiatives (DI) has welcomed the report, particularly its call for DFID to use its leadership role to encourage other humanitarian actors to publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard. DI provides the technical support to IATI, which aims to make information about aid spending easier to access, understand and use.

Martin Horwood, DI’s Director of Engagement and Impact, said: “We are extremely pleased to see the committee calling for DFID to reinforce its own commitment to publishing to the IATI Standard and encouraging other actors to do the same. We are wholeheartedly committed to transparency and open data, as we believe these are key tools in strengthening accountability, improving monitoring and building a more effective and efficient humanitarian system.

“We also welcome the committee’s recommendation that DFID proposes ways to close the gap between development and humanitarian interventions, allowing for a rapid shift from development to emergency humanitarian assistance as required. Flexibility in the use of humanitarian and development funding, and a commitment to multi-year financing, are particularly important in the case of effective responses to protracted and recurrent crises.

“The committee also recognises the importance of local actors in the humanitarian system, calling for DFID to resource and promote the role of local actors in crisis response. We welcome this recommendation, as we believe that these actors are often key to an effective and timely response to crises.”

The report uses DI evidence to show the shift in humanitarian assistance in recent years towards more long-term funding for crisis situations.